Pulau Tioman is a famous tourist island off Peninsular Malaysia with beautiful coral reefs. This study aims to assess the health of the coral reefs surrounding Pulau Tioman based on the application of the Foraminifera in Reef Assessment and Monitoring Index (FI). Ten sampling sites around Pulau Tioman were studied with a total of 30 samples. Eight orders, 41 families, 80 genera, and 161 species of benthic foraminifera were identified. The agglutinated type of foraminifera constituted 2-8% of the total assemblages. Calcareous hyaline and porcelaneous groups represented 79% and 19% of the total assemblages, respectively. Symbiont-bearing taxa were the most common foraminifera. The results indicate that most of the sampling sites are conducive for coral reef growth with good recoverability from future stress to the ecosystem. However, several areas with higher coastal development and tourism have reduced water and sediment quality. Therefore, the limit on the number of visitors and tourists should be revised to enable coral growth and health. The FI values in this study showed a positive correlation with good water qualities and a negative correlation with organic matter enrichment. The FI is a good measure to assess the health of a coral reef and can be applied to other reef ecosystems around Malaysia.
Lymphocystis disease (LCD) in fishes is caused by the agent called lymphocystis disease virus (LCDV). LCDV is a chronic and benign virus. The disease affects 96 species of marine and fresh water fishes ranged among 34 families in the world. Affected fish with LCD has a typical external symptom with clusters consisted of enormously hypertrophied dermal cells on the skin and fins. The hypertrophied cells, generally named lymphocystis cells, have a thick hyaline capsule, an enlarged nucleus and prominent basophilic cytoplasmic inclusions. Among the four species of fishes, olive flounder Paralichthys olivaceus, and rockfish Sebastes schlegeli were marine cultured fish, and gourami Trichogaster leeri and painted glassfish Channa baculis were freshwater ornamental fish. Although LCD causes low mortality, the disfigurement of infected fish can make them unsellable. Thus LCD has resulted in an important economic loss in the aquaculture industry. This study of histopathology may be adequate for a presumptive diagnosis of lymphocystis diseases both in marine and freshwater fish species.
A stem canker disease on rambutan (Nephelium lappaceum L.) and litchi (Litchi chinensis Sonn. (Sapindaceae) was found in plants in Hawaii and Puerto Rico. A fungus associated with cankers was identified as Dolabra nepheliae C. Booth & Ting (1). Numerous black, stipitate, elongate ascomata were produced within cracks of cankers. These ascomata contain elongate, bitunicate asci amid unbranched, interthecial elements and thin, cylindrical, hyaline ascospores measuring 96 to 136 × 2.5 to 3.5 μm. This fungus was originally described from Malaysia on N. lappaceum (1) and is also known on pulasan (N. mutabile Blume) in Australia (2). Classified by the Food and Agriculture Organization as a 'minor disease', the canker appears to be relatively common in Hawaii and was most likely introduced into Puerto Rico on imported germplasm. Nevertheless, efforts are underway to study the potential damage of this disease as well as mechanisms of control, including introduction of disease resistant clones. Specimens have been deposited at the U.S. National Fungus Collections (Hawaii on Nephelium BPI 878189, Puerto Rico (PR) on Nephelium BPI 878188, and PR on Litchi BPI 878190). Although a specimen of D. nepheliae on L. chinensis was collected from Hawaii in 1984 by G. Wong and C. Hodges and deposited as BPI 626373, this fungus was not known on Nephelium spp. in Hawaii and was not previously known from Puerto Rico on either host. References: (1) C. Booth and W. P. Ting. Trans. Brit. Mycol. Soc. 47:235, 1964. (2) T. K. Lim and Y. Diczbalis. Rambutan. Page 306 in: The New Rural Industries. Online publication. Rural Industries Research and Development Corporation, Australia, 1997.
Malignant peripheral nerve sheath tumour (MPNST) with perineurial differentiation is a rare variant of MPNST. The pathological features and clinical significance of this variant remain to be characterised. We reported the clinicoradiological and pathological features of a case of recurrent right arm mass related to the ulnar nerve in a 42-year-old female patient. On pathological examination, the tumour showed dual features of conventional and perineurial MPNST which was proven by positive immunostaining for S-100 and EMA. The pathological diagnosis was MPNST with perineurial differentiation. In addition, a peculiar and rare finding of intracytoplasmic eosinophilic hyaline globules (thanatosomes) within tumour cells is reported. We document a rare tumour with hybrid features between conventional and perineurial MPNSTs. Further studies are needed to establish its biological behaviour.
Soybean (Glycine max L.) is one of the most economically important crops in the world, and anthracnose is known to infect soybean in most countries. Colletotrichum truncatum is the common pathogen causing anthracnose of soybean. However, at least five species of Colletotrichum have been reported on soybean worldwide (2). In July 2010, anthracnose symptoms were observed on soybean in the experimental fields of the agriculture station in Ladang Dua, University Putra Malaysia located in Selangor state of Malaysia. Symptoms were initially observed on a few plants randomly within one field, but after 4 weeks, the disease was found in two additional fields scattered across an area of 1 km2. Pinkish-brown lesions were observed on the pods, and the formation of dark lesions on the leaves and stems was sometimes followed by stem girdling, dieback, and distorted growth. At later stages, numerous epidermal acervuli developed in the lesions, and mucilaginous conidial masses appeared during periods of high relative humidity. Conidia produced in acervuli were straight, cylindric, hyaline, and aseptate, with both ends rounded. Conidia measured (mean ± SD) 14.2 ± 0.6 × 3.6 ± 0.7 μm, and the L/W ratio was 3.95 μm. Six isolates of the fungus were obtained and identified as C. gloeosporioides on the basis of morphological characterization (3). The isolates were deposited in the University Putra of Malaysia Culture Collection (UPMCC). PDA cultures were white at first and subsequently became grayish to pink to reddish-brown. Amplification and sequence analysis of coding and none-coding regions of the ITS-rDNA (GenBank JX669450), actin (JX827430), β-tubulin (JX827454), histone (JX827448), chitin synthase (JX827436), and glyceraldehyde-3-phosphate dehydrogenase (JX827442) obtained from the representative isolate, CGM50, aligned with deposited sequences from GenBank and revealed 99 to 100% sequence identity with C. gloeosporioides strains (JX258757, JX009790, GQ849434, HM575301, JQ005413, and JX00948 from GenBank). One representative isolate, CGM50, was used for pathogenicity testing. Four non-infected detached leaves and pods of 24-day-old G. max var. Palmetto were surface-sterilized and inoculated by placing 10 μl of a conidial suspension (106 conidia ml-1) using either the wound/drop or non-wound/drop method (4), with 10 μl distilled water as a negative control. Leaves and pods were incubated at 25°C, 98% RH. The experiment was repeated twice. Five days after inoculation, the development of typical field symptoms, including acervuli formation, occurred on the leaves and pods of inoculated plants, but not on the negative controls. A fungus with the same colony and conidial morphology as CGM50 was recovered from the lesions on the inoculated leaves and pods. Anthracnose caused by C. gloeosporioides on soybean plants has been reported previously in different countries, but not in Malaysia (3). Geographically, the climate of Malaysia is highly conducive to maintain and cause outbreaks of anthracnose all year round; thus, the development of management recommendations will be inevitable for anthracnose control. To our knowledge, this is the first report of C. gloeosporioides causing anthracnose on soybean in Malaysia. References: (1) U. Damm et al. Fungal Diversity 39:45, 2009. (2) S. L. Chen et al. J. Phytopathol. 154:654, 2006. (3) B. C. Sutton. The Genus Glomerella and its Anamorph Colletotrichum. CAB International, Wallingford, UK, 1992. (4) P. P. Than et al. Plant Pathol. 57:562, 2008. ERRATUM: A correction was made to this Disease Note on May 19, 2014. The author N. Soleimani was added.
Mango (Mangifera indica L.) is grown on approximately 20,000 ha in Taiwan. It is an economically important crop and the income of many fruit farmers comes primarily from mango production. During 2006 and 2007, a stem-end rot disease was observed 1 week after harvest on 28 to 36% of stored mangoes picked from six orchards in the Pingtung, Tainan, and Kaoshiung regions. Two popular mango cultivars, Keitt and Irwin, showed greater susceptibility to this disease, while 'Haden' was found to be moderately susceptible. In storage, symptoms initially appeared as light-to-dark brown lesions surrounding peduncles. Rot symptoms advanced slowly but eventually penetrated the mesocarp, which consequently reduced the commercial value of fruits. The fungus formed abundant pycnidia (0.1 to 0.6 mm in diameter) on infected fruits in advanced stages of symptom development. Pieces of symptomatic fruits plated on acidified potato dextrose agar (PDA) and incubated at 25 ± 1°C consistently yielded the same fungus. A single conidial isolate was cultured. Pycnidia developed on PDA after continuous exposure to light for 9 to 14 days. On the basis of morphological characteristics, the fungus was identified as Phomopsis mangiferae L. (2,3). Pycnidia released two types of conidia: α-conidia (5 to 10 × 2.3 to 4.0 μm) were hyaline and oval to fusoid; and β-conidia (15.0 to 37.5 × 1.3 to 2.5 μm) were hyaline and filiform with characteristic curves. Conidiophores were hyaline, filiform, simple or branched, septate, and 15 to 75 μm long. Cultures incubated under continuous fluorescent light (185 ± 35 μE·m-2·s-1) at 25°C for 3 days were used as inoculum for pathogenicity tests. Five fruits from 'Keitt' were wounded with a sterilized scalpel and each wound (2 × 2 × 2 mm) was inoculated with either a 5-mm mycelium agar plug or a 0.5-ml spore suspension (105 conidia per ml) of the fungus. Five wounded fruits inoculated with 5-mm PDA plugs or sterile water alone served as controls. Inoculated areas were covered with moist, sterile cotton. Fruits were enclosed in plastic bags and incubated at 24°C for 3 days. The test was performed three times. The same symptoms were observed on all inoculated fruits, whereas no decay was observed on control fruits. Reisolations from the inoculated fruits consistently yielded P. mangiferae, thus fulfilling Koch's postulates. This disease has previously been reported in Australia, Brazil, China, Cuba, India, Malaysia, and the United States (1). To our knowledge, this is the first report of P. mangiferae causing stem-end rot disease on mangoes in Taiwan. Our report necessitates taking preventive strategies in the field, prior to or after harvest, to contain postharvest losses in mangoes. References: (1) G. I. Johnson. Page 39 in: Compendium of Tropical Fruit Diseases. R. C. Ploetz et al., eds. The American Phytopathological Society. St. Paul, MN, 1994. (2) R. C. Ploetz, ed. Page 354 in: Diseases of Tropical Fruit Crops. CABI Publishing. Wallingford, UK, 2003. (3) E. Punithalingam. No. 1168 in: Descriptions of Pathogenic Fungi and Bacteria. CMI, Kew, Surrey, UK, 1993.
Rambutan (Nephelium lappaceum Linn.) is a tropical, exotic fruit that has a rapidly expanding niche market in Hawaii. Diseased rambutan fruit was commonly observed in orchards in the Hilo and Kona districts of Hawaii Island during 2006. In surveys conducted in January, symptoms appeared as dark brown-to-black spots on mature fruit and blackened areas at the base of spinterns (hair-like projections) of mature and immature fruits. Pieces of infected fruit (cv. R167) were surface sterilized for 2 min in 0.5% NaOCl, plated on potato dextrose agar, and incubated at 24 ± 1°C for 7 days. The fungus growing on PDA was pale buff with sparse, aerial mycelium and acervuli containing black, slimy spore masses. All isolates had five-celled conidia. Apical and basal cells were hyaline, while the three median cells were olivaceous; the upper two were slightly darker than the lower one. Conidia (n = 40) were 20.3 ± 0.1 × 6.8 ± 0.1 μm. There were typically three apical appendages averaging 16.8 ± 0.2 μm long. The average basal appendage was 3.8 ± 0.1 μm long. The fungus was initially identified as Pestalotiopsis virgatula (Kleb.) Stey. on the basis of conidial and cultural characteristics (3). The identification was confirmed by molecular analysis of the 5.8S subunit and flanking internal transcribed spacers (ITS1 and ITS2) of rDNA amplified from DNA extracted from single-spore cultures with the ITS1/ITS4 primers (1,4) and sequenced (GenBank Accession No. EU047943). To confirm pathogenicity, agar pieces, 3 mm in diameter, from 7-day old cultures were used as inoculum. Five mature fruit from rambutan cv. R134 were rinsed with tap water, surface sterilized with 0.5% NaOCl for 2 min, wounded with a needle head, inoculated in the laboratory, and maintained in a moist chamber for 7 days. Lesions resembling symptoms that occurred in the field were observed on fruit after 7 days. No symptoms were observed on fruit inoculated with agar media. The fungus reisolated from diseased fruit was identical to the original isolates, confirming Koch's postulates. The disease appears to be widespread in Hawaii. Preharvest symptoms may have the potential to affect postharvest fruit quality if fruits are not stored at the proper conditions. Pestalotiopsis spp. have been reported on rambutan in Malaysia, Brunei, and Australia (2). To my knowledge, this is the first report of P. virgatula causing fruit spots on rambutan in Hawaii. References: (1) G. Caetano-Annolles et al. Curr. Genet. 39:346, 2001. (2) D. F. Farr et al. Fungal Databases. Systematic Botany and Mycology Laboratory. On-line publication. ARS, USDA, 2007. (3) E. F. Guba. Monograph of Pestalotia and Monochaetia. Harvard University Press, Cambridge, MA, 1961. (4) T. J. White et al. PCR Protocols: A Guide to Methods and Applications. Academic Press, San Diego, CA. 1990.
Margalefidinium polykrikoides, an unarmored dinoflagellate, was suspected to be the causative agent of the harmful algal blooms - associated with massive fish mortalities - that have occurred continually in Lampung Bay, Indonesia, since the first bloom event in October 2012. In this study, after examination of the morphology of putative M. polykrikoides-like cysts sampled in bottom sediments, cyst bed distribution of this harmful species was explored in the inner bay. Sediment samples showed that resting cysts, including several morphotypes previously reported as M. polykrikoides, were most abundant on the northern coast of Lampung Bay, ranging from 20.6 to 645.6 cysts g-1 dry sediment. Molecular phylogeny inferred from LSU rDNA revealed that the so-called Mediterranean ribotype was detected in the sediment while M. polykrikoides motile cells, four-cell chain forming in bloom conditions, belonged to the American-Malaysian ribotype. Moreover, hyaline cysts, exclusively in the form of four-cell chains, were also recorded. Overall, these results unequivocally show that the species M. polykrikoides is abundantly present, in the form of vegetative cells, hyaline and resting cysts in an Indonesian area.
Mango (Mangifera indica L.; family Anacardiaceae) is one of the world's most important fruit crops and is widely grown in tropical and subtropical regions. Since 2001, a leaf spot disease was found in mango orchards of Taiwan. Now, the disease was observed throughout (approximately 21,000 ha) Taiwan in moderate to severe form, thus affecting the general health of mango trees and orchards. Initial symptoms were small, yellow-to-brown spots on leaves. Later, the irregularly shaped spots, ranging from a few millimeters to a few centimeters in diameter, turned white to gray and coalesced to form larger gray patches. Lesions had slightly raised dark margins. On mature lesions, numerous black acervuli, measuring 290 to 328 μm in diameter, developed on the gray necrotic areas. Single conidial isolates of the fungus were identified morphologically as Pestalotiopsis mangiferae (Henn.) Steyaert (2,3) and were consistently isolated from the diseased mango leaves on acidified (0.06% lactic acid) potato dextrose agar (PDA) medium incubated at 25 ± 1°C. Initially, the fungus grew (3 mm per day) on PDA as a white, chalky colony that subsequently turned gray after 2 weeks. Acervuli developed in culture after continuous exposure to light for 9 to 12 days at 20 to 30°C. Abundant conidia oozed from the acervulus as a creamy mass. The conidia (17.6 to 25.4 μm long and 4.8 to 7.1 μm wide) were fusiform and usually straight to slightly curved with four septa. Three median cells were olivaceous and larger than the hyaline apical and basal cells. The apical cells bore three (rarely four) cylindrical appendages. Pathogenicity tests were conducted with either 3-day-old mycelial discs or conidial suspension (105 conidia per ml) obtained from 8- to 10-day-old cultures. Four leaves on each of 10 trees were inoculated. Before inoculation, the leaves were washed with a mild detergent, rinsed with tap water, and then surface sterilized with 70% ethanol. Leaves were wounded with a needle and exposed to either a 5-mm mycelial disc or 0.2 ml of the spore suspension. The inoculated areas were wrapped with cotton pads saturated with sterile water and the leaves were covered with polyethylene bags for 3 days to maintain high relative humidity. Wounded leaves inoculated with PDA discs alone served as controls. The symptoms described above were observed on all inoculated leaves, whereas uninoculated leaves remained completely free from symptoms. Reisolation from the inoculated leaves consistently yielded P. mangiferae, thus fulfilling Koch's postulates. Gray leaf spot is a common disease of mangos in the tropics and is widely distributed in Africa and Asia (1-3); however, to our knowledge, this is the first report of gray leaf spot disease affecting mango in Taiwan. References: (1) T. K. Lim and K. C. Khoo. Diseases and Disorders of Mango in Malaysia. Tropical Press. Malaysia, 1985. (2) J. E. M. Mordue. No. 676 in: CMI Descriptions of Pathogenic Fungi and Bacteria. Surrey, England, 1980. (3) R. C. Ploetz et al. Compendium of Tropical Fruit Diseases. The American Phytopathological Society. St. Paul, MN, 1994.
Cosmos caudatus Kunth. (Asteraceae), commonly known as ulam raja, is widely grown as an herbal aromatic shrub. In Malaysia, its young leaves are popularly eaten raw as salad with other greens and have been reported to possess extremely high antioxidant properties, which may be partly responsible for some of its believed medicinal functions. In early 2010, a suspected powdery mildew was observed on ulam raja plants at the Agricultural Park of Universiti Putra Malaysia. Initially, individual, white, superficial colonies were small and almost circular. Later, they enlarged and coalesced to cover the whole abaxial leaf surface. With development of the disease, all green parts (leaves, stems, and petioles) became covered with a continuous mat of mildew, giving a dusty appearance. Newly emerged leaves rapidly became infected. Diseased leaves ultimately senesced and dried up, making them aesthetically unattractive and unmarketable. The pathogen produced conidia in short chains (four to six conidia) on erect conidiophores. Conidiophores were unbranched, cylindrical, 125 to 240 μm long, with a slightly swollen foot cell. Individual conidia were hyaline, ellipsoid, and 25 to 30 (27.5) × 15 to 20 (17.5) μm with fibrosin inclusions. Morphological descriptions were consistent with those described for Sphaerotheca fuliginea or S. fusca, which has lately been reclassified as Podosphaera fusca (1). From extracted genomic DNA of P. fusca UPM UR1, the internal transcribed spacer (ITS) region was amplified with ITS1 (5'-TCCGTAGGTGAACCTGCGG-3') and ITS4 (5'-TCCTCCGCTTATTGATATGC-3'). A BLAST search of GenBank with an ITS rDNA sequence of this fungus (GenBank Accession No. HQ589357) showed a maximum identity of 98% to the sequences of two P. fusca isolates (GenBank Accession Nos. AB525915.1 and AB525914.1). To satisfy Koch's postulates, the pathogenicity of fungal strain UPM UR1 was verified on 4-week-old plants. Inoculation was carried out by gently rubbing infected leaves onto healthy plants of C. caudatus. Ten pots of inoculated plants were kept under a plastic humid chamber and 10 pots of noninoculated plants, placed under another chamber, served as controls. After 48 h, the plants were then placed under natural conditions (25 to 28°C). Powdery mildew symptoms, similar to those on diseased field plants, appeared after 7 days on all inoculated plants. The white, superficial colonies enlarged and merged to cover large areas within 2 weeks. The infected leaf tissues became necrotic 6 to 8 days after the appearance of the first symptoms. Sporulation of P. fusca was observed on all infected leaves and stems. No symptoms were seen on the control plants. To our knowledge, this is the first report of P. fusca causing powdery mildew on C. caudatus in Malaysia. This pathogen has also been reported previously to be economically important on a number of other hosts. With ulam raja plants, more attention should be given to prevention and control measures to help manage this disease. Reference: (1) U. Braun and S. Takamatsu. Schlechtendalia 4:1, 2000.
Castleman disease (CD) is a rare lymphoproliferative disorder of unknown aetiology. It manifests in two distinct clinical presentations: unicentric and multicentric. Unicentric CD is rare and may present as an isolated neck mass. A 22-year-old man presented with a 6-month history of right neck swelling that occupied the posterior triangle of the right neck region. After surgical exploration, a solitary, well defined, and hyper vascular mass was excise. A histopathological examination confirmed the lesion as CD, hyaline-vascular variant. CD of the neck is a diagnosis that is usually not taken into consideration while evaluating neck masses due to its rarity and unassuming presentation. It should be keep in the differential diagnosis of neck masses as the clinical and radiological features evade a firm diagnosis. The treatment of unicentric CD is complete surgical excision, which cures the patient.
The mother of a 9-month-old female infant complained that her child was unable to pass urine at the same time noticing a mass protruding from the vaginal orifice.The infant had a single episode of vaginal bleeding.The primary concern of the mother was the inability of the daughter to micturate. Malignant germ cell tumour arising from an infant vagina is rare and accounts for about 3% of all paedriatic malignancies. These are also referred to as endodermal sinus tumours or yolk sac tumours, and are mostly the commonest form of infant vaginal malignancies encountered. A diagnosis of endodermal sinus tumour was established based on the histology and raised α-fetoprotein levels.These tumours had Schiller-Duval bodies which are primarily blood vessels surrounded by primordial germ cells and were periodic acid shift (PAS) positive diastase resistant hyaline globules which also stain positive with α- fetoprotein which is an important diagnostic feature. Tumours with high α-fetoprotein levels have a poorer prognosis. However, they respond satisfactorily to chemotherapy.
In July 2011, a severe outbreak of pod and stem blight was observed on lima bean (Phaseolus lunatus L.) plants grown in the Cameron Highlands, located in Pahang State, Malaysia. Disease incidence varied from 33 to 75% in different fields. Pods and stems exhibited withered, light brown to reddish brown necrotic areas. Sub-circular and brown lesions were produced on the leaves. These lesions varied in size, often reaching a diameter of 1 to 2 cm. After tissue death, numerous pycnidia were observed on the surface of the pod or stem. The pycnidia diameter varied from 155 to 495 μm, averaging 265.45 μm, and on the surface of the pod or stem, pycnidia were often arranged concentrically or linearly, respectively. Pycnidiospores were hyaline, 1-celled, usually straight, and rarely, slightly curved. The α-spores varied from 5.5 to 9.0 × 2.5 to 4.0 μm; averaging 7.3 × 3.5 μm. The β-spores found either alone or with pycnidiospores in pycnidia were slender, hyaline, nonseptate, and straight or curved. Size varied from 15.8 to 38.0 × 1.3 to 2.1 μm; averaging 25.86 × 1.8 μm. The colony characteristics were recorded from pure cultures grown on potato dextrose agar plates, and incubated in darkness for 7 days at 25 °C, then exposed to 16/8 h light and dark periods at 25°C for a further 14 to 21 days. Morphological characteristics of the colonies and spores on PDA matched those described for P. phaseolorum var. sojae (2). Colonies were white, compact, with wavy mycelium and stromata with pycnidia that contained abundant β-spores. Sequence analysis of the ribosomal DNA internal transcribed spacer obtained from the Malaysian isolate FM1 (GenBank Accession No. JQ514150) using primers ITS5 and ITS4 (1) aligned with deposited sequences from GenBank confirmed identity and revealed 99% to 100% DNA similarity with P. phaseolorum strains (AY577815, AF001020, HM012819, JQ936148). The isolate FM1 was used for pathogenicity testing. Five non-infected detached leaves and pods of 4-week-old lima bean were surface sterilized and inoculated by placing 10 μl of conidial suspension (106 conidia ml-1) on the surface of leaves and pods using either the wound/drop or non-wound/drop method and distilled water used as control (3). The inoculated leaves and pods were incubated at 25 °C and 98% RH, and the experiment was performed twice. Disease reactions and symptoms were evaluated after inoculation. After one week, typical symptoms of pod and stem blight appeared with formation of pycnidia on the surface of the tissues, but not on non-inoculated controls. P. phaseolorum var. sojae was consistently reisolated from symptoms. To our knowledge, this is the first report of P. phaseolorum var. sojae causing pod and stem blight of lima bean in Malaysia. References: (1) R. Ford et al. Aust. Plant Pathol. 33:559, 2004. (2) G. L. Hartman et al. Compendium of Soybean Diseases. 4th ed. American Phytopathological Society, St. Paul, MN, 1999. (3) P. P. Than et al. Plant Pathol. 57:562, 2008.
Autologous chondrocyte implantation (ACI) is a significant technique that has gained widespread use for the treatment of focal articular cartilage damage. Since its inception in 2004, the Tissue Engineering Group (TEG) of the Faculty of Medicine, University Malaya has been dedicated to carrying out extensive research on this cell-based therapy. The objective of this report, comprising one clinical case report, six animal studies and one laboratory study, is to summarise and discuss TEG’s key findings. On the whole, we observed that the ACI technique was effective in regenerating hyaline-like cartilage in treated defects. Autologous chondrocytes and mesenchymal stem cells (MSC) were found to produce comparable tissue repair irrespective of the state of MSC differentiation, and the use of alginate-based scaffolding and oral pharmacotherapy (Glucosamine and Chondroitin Sulphate) was shown to enhance ACI-led tissue repair. ACI is suggested to be an efficient therapeutic option for the treatment of articular cartilage defects of the knee.
In the last decade, rambutan (Nephelium lappaceum L., Sapindaceae) and pulasan (N. mutabile Blume) have been cultivated in Honduras to produce exotic fruits for export to North America (2). Recently, a disease was observed that produces dark brown to black fissured cankers from 1 to 3 cm long and 1 to 4 cm wide. The infected bark tissue becomes swollen with the middle region 3 to 8 mm thick. Symptoms appear when the trees are approximately 3 years old. As the trees mature, the cankers increase in size and weaken the branches, often resulting in breakage with the weight of the fruit causing substantial plant damage and fruit loss. In August 2010, fissured branch samples of rambutan and pulasan were collected from 6- to 8-year-old trees from the Humid Tropical Demonstrative Agroforestry Center in Honduras, Atlantida, La Masica (15°33'47.4″N, 87°05'2.5″W, elevation 106 m). A fungus associated with the cankers was identified as Dolabra nepheliae. It produces black, stipitate, elongate ascomata, 312 to 482 × 250 to 281 μm with broadly cylindric, bitunicate asci, 120 to 138 × 11.2 to 15.0 μm, and filiform, hyaline ascospores, 128 to 135 × 2.8 to 3.2 μm. Fungi from rambutan and pulasan were isolated on cornmeal agar plus 0.5% dextrose and antibiotics. On potato dextrose agar, the ascospores produced slow-growing colonies, 5 mm per week. In culture, isolates from both hosts produced pycnidia with elongated, slightly to strongly curved or S-shaped, hyaline conidia, 22.8 to 46.4 × 2.8 to 3.7 μm. This fungus was first reported on rambutan and pulasan from Malaysia (1,4), and later reported on rambutan and litchi in Hawaii and Puerto Rico (3). To our knowledge, this is the first report of D. nepheliae on pulasan and rambutan from Honduras. Specimens have been deposited at the U.S. National Fungus Collections (BPI 882442 on N. lappaceum and BPI 882443 on N. mutabile). Cultures were deposited at the Centraalbureau voor Schimmelcultures (CBS) as CBS 131490 on N. lappaceum and CBS 131491 on N. mutabile. Sequences of the internal transcribed spacer (ITS) region including ITS1, 5.8S, and ITS2 intergenic spacers were deposited in GenBank (Accession No. JQ004281 on N. lappaceum and Accession No. JQ004280 on N. mutabile). A BLAST search and pairwise comparison using the GenBank web server were used to compare ITS sequence data and recovered the following results: (i) CBS 131490 on N. lappaceum is 99% (538 of 544) identical to D. nepheliae CBS 123297 on Litchi chinensis from Puerto Rico; and (ii) CBS 131491 on N. mutabile is 99% (527 of 533) identical to the same strain of D. nepheliae. On the basis of the ITS sequence data, the isolates from Honduras were confirmed as the same species, D. nepheliae from Puerto Rico. Efforts to develop resistant germplasm and management strategies to control this disease have been initiated. References: (1) C. Booth and W. P. Ting. Trans. Brit. Mycol. Soc. 47:235, 1964. (2) T. Ramírez et al. Manual Para el Cultivo de Rambutan en Honduras. Fundación Hondureña de Investigación Agrícola. La Lima, Cortes, Honduras, 2003. (3) A. Y. Rossman et al. Plant Dis. 91:1685, 2007. (4) H. Zalasky et al. Can. J. Bot. 49:559, 1971.
Eleven corneal specimens from nine patients with Salzmann's nodular degeneration of the cornea, together with all available clinical information, were collected for this study. The specimens were examined by light and electron microscopy. An antecedent keratitis was diagnosed by history and microscopic findings in every case. The corneal epithelium showed degenerative changes, its thickness varied, and in nodular areas it often consisted of only a single layer of flattened epithelial cells by light microscopy. Bowman's membrane was missing over the nodules, and in this zone there was excessive secretion of a basement membrane-like material. Hyaline degeneration of collagen, cellular debris, and electron-dense hyaline deposits were seen in the collagen of the nodules. The number of fibrocytes in the nodules varied from many that were active to a few that were degenerating. External irritation because of poor epithelial protection was interpreted as a causative factor, although other tissue repair mechanisms may also have played a role.
Twelve pleomorphic adenomas of minor salivary gland origin were examined for the distribution of S-100 protein, detected using the peroxidase-antiperoxidase (PAP) method. Strong S-100 protein immunoreactivity was noted in areas containing plasmacytoid cells, stellate and spindle cells against a myxochondroid or hyalinous stroma, and solid epithelial areas. Tubular and duct-like structures showed variable stainability. Stromal tissue and normal salivary glands were generally negative for S-100 protein. These findings were compared with those reported elsewhere.